Video Talk 1 Acceleration by: Graham McNamee

Reading Journal 4

Acceleration
By: Graham McNamee

To be completely honest, I was a bit unsure to how good a suspense thriller, for this age group would be. I have a love for mystery and thrill, when it comes to books. When I heard about this book I wasn’t too sure if I would enjoy a book of this genre; written at this age level, but I loved it. I felt tons of thrill and fear for Duncan, as he battled the world, himself, and finding a man before he kills.

It seemed like this book covered many great topic areas, for discussion. Some of the things I noticed were the will to help others, solve right and wrong, treat others well, and being honest; just to mention a few. This book has endless possible angles to take as a reader and teacher for the use in the classroom. Though it was a suspenseful novel, there were many important life lessons happening throughout; that I believe many students this age have faced or have witnessed. By this statement, I am referring to friends with differences, doing the right thing, and dealing with struggles at home, friends, love.

I was very impressed with how well written, believable the story was. Though there is some blood and gore in the novel; I felt it was well handled and just enough for the thrill, but not to take from the age well the book was intended for. Overall I found this book a great story, which has much meaning behind an exciting thriller.

Craft Lesson 1

Craft Lesson 1: Describing a Character
Resources and other materials: Standing against the Wind by Traci L. Jones
Grade Level: 6th - 8th Creative Writing Unit


Discussion:
As teachers and readers we all know how important it is that our characters and the ones we read about are well described. We want them to come to life for us so that people enjoy our writing and make connections with the characters. Sometimes when students write they forget or struggle with describing their main character. I’m sure we have all read a good story, but it is hard to relate to or become interested in because we know nothing about the main character, thus making the story not as good as it could be. I believe that it is not that are students are bad writers, they just know their characters so well they forget we, the reader, doesn’t know their character yet. As teachers we can help students understand how to describe characters by reading works that do a good job of just that, then giving the students a chance to practice themselves.

How to Teach it:
The class will have read through chapter four at this point. Class, as you know, we have been reading the book Standing Against the Wind and have spoken a lot about what Patrice has been doing and going through. Let’s take a minute to talk about Patrice as a person. What do we know about her? (In small groups give students a chance to come up with a list of traits and why they feel she embodies those; let groups share what they have come up with and give the rest of the class a chance to comment.) How did we come up with these traits and opinions of Patrice? How did we get to know her? She isn’t a person in this class so who helped us get to know her as a person/character in our story? (This is the “AH HA” moment for the students that you will help prompt them to.) By figuring out the author is the person who helped us to get to know Patrice, by describing her to us through her writing, we now know why we feel we know Patrice. (Let the students continue in this discussion and new understanding. Once this topic has been addressed have the students review some of their recent writings.) While we review our work we could try to come up with adjectives to help us describe our characters. Let’s also look through Traci L. Jones’ book and see what she has done to describe Patrice to us. (Go back and forth with the students sharing personal ideas and examples from Traci L. Jones’ book.) With a partner let’s work together to better describe characters in our recent stories; this is something we want to do so when people read out work they feel they know the characters. We want our readers to relate to our stories and feel more apart of what we write, thus making us better writers and describers.

Bibliography:
Jones, Traci L. (2006). Standing against the wind. NY, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

TEKS:
(15) Writing/purposes. The student writes for a variety of audiences and purposes and in a variety of forms. The student is expected to:(A) write to express, discover, record, develop, reflect on ideas, and to problem solve (4-8);(B) write to influence such as to persuade, argue, and request (4-8);(C) write to inform such as to explain, describe, report, and narrate (4-8);(D) write to entertain such as to compose humorous poems or short stories (4-8);(E) select and use voice and style appropriate to audience and purpose (6-8);(F) choose the appropriate form for his/her own purpose for writing, including journals, letters, editorials, reviews, poems, memoirs, narratives, and instructions (7-8);(G) use literary devices effectively such as suspense, dialogue, and figurative language (5-8); and(H) produce cohesive and coherent written texts by organizing ideas, using effective transitions, and choosing precise wording (6-8).
(18) Writing/processes. The student selects and uses writing processes for self-initiated and assigned writing. The student is expected to:(A) generate ideas and plans for writing by using prewriting strategies such as brainstorming, graphic organizers, notes, and logs (4-8);(B) develop drafts by categorizing ideas, organizing them into paragraphs, and blending paragraphs within larger units of text (4-8);(C) revise selected drafts by adding, elaborating, deleting, combining, and rearranging text (4-8);(D) revise drafts for coherence, progression, and logical support of ideas (4-8);(E) edit drafts for specific purposes such as to ensure standard usage, varied sentence structure, and appropriate word choice (4-8);(F) use available technology to support aspects of creating, revising, editing, and publishing texts (4-8);(G) refine selected pieces frequently to "publish" for general and specific audiences (4-8);(H) proofread his/her own writing and that of others (4-8); and(I) select and use reference materials and resources as needed for writing, revising, andediting final drafts (4-8).
(19) Writing/evaluation. The student evaluates his/her own writing and the writings of others. The student is expected to:(A) apply criteria to evaluate writing (4-8);(B) respond in constructive ways to others' writings (4-8);(C) evaluate how well his/her own writing achieves its purposes (4-8);(D) analyze published examples as models for writing (4-8); and(E) review a collection of written works to determine its strengths and weaknesses and to set goals as a writer (4-8).
(21) Writing/connections. The student interacts with writers inside and outside the classroom in ways that reflect the practical uses of writing. The student is expected to: (A) collaborate with other writers to compose, organize, and revise various types of texts, including letters, news, records, and forms (4-8); (B) correspond with peers or others via e-mail or conventional mail (4-8); and (C) identify challenges faced by published authors and strategies they use to compose various types of text (7-8).

Book Review 1

Miracle’s Boys
By: Jacqueline Woodson

Biography of Author: Jacqueline loved to write from a young age and would write on anything she could, from sidewalks to school binders, even a building. She also loved to tell stories to anyone who would listen, whether the stories were true or not. She finally was noticed as a great writer in fifth grade, but not until she was accused of not writing a work that was indeed hers. She finally got recognition for her poem and since then has continued to write. She says it still surprises her to see her books in stores, even now.

Summary of Book: Lafayette is a young boy living with his two older brothers in the apartment that once held a whole family. With his middle brother, Charlie, returning home from a boys’ home; and not returning the brother he remembered, Laf wishes more than ever that life was back to the way it used to be. He misses his mom and the old Charlie that he was once so close to. With his oldest brother, Ty’ree working long hours to provide for the three, Laf feels rather alone, while struggling with how his past has altered his future. While living the strain of his family falling apart in front of him he worries things will never be happy again. Does Charlie finally stay out of trouble? Does Lafayette begin to understand his past and happy with his brothers in his present?

Awards: Coretta Scott King Award and Los Angeles Times Book Prize

Analysis of Book: This is a great book for tween and teen readers. It reaches out to any child struggling with trials in the home; from loss of parents, to fights with siblings, and more. It is well written, in that it covers a very short span of time, but really allows the reader to get to know Lafayette and his struggles. It is a book that any young reader can relate to in some way and makes for an easy, yet interesting read. Though some of the situations throughout the book might be hard to hear about, they are all well written into the story at a level students will understand. I enjoyed this book and all the discussion content it has to offer!

This review can be found at Borders.

Reading Journal 3

Miracle’s Boys
By: Jacqueline Woodson

This book is at the top of my list of favorites.

I found when reading this book that I really got to know Laf as a person, and understand his emotions. The story seemed to get into each person so well, and give the reader a chance to feel like part of the family, of three boys. This surprised me because once I got to the end of the book; I realized that only about two days passed. It just seemed I had been with the boys forever, due to the well written memories told throughout the book.

It was neat to see how the author slowly revealed the reason each boy was sad and hurt. It was as though they were letting each other, and us as readers, become comfortable around one another before sharing intimate details. I liked this, because it felt the way a real family might struggle to share information with each other.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a great ending to this book. I really thought that Charlie had messed up again; hurting what was left of a fragile family. Thank goodness he had only seemed to have lost his way, and wanted so badly to return home. I was thankful the two boys believed him, and for the first time in the story they all seemed to truly love one another. By the end they became the family they once knew when Mama was around.

Reading Journal 2

A Step from Heaven
By: An Na

When reading this book I felt just about every emotion possible; which was great!

I was happy to see such a close family choosing to do something they believed would better them. I then began to be angry for Young; she seemed lost with the language, culture, and adaptation of a new place. Then my emotions turned to strength and frustration as she struggled through different trials in America. And just when I really got mad with Young’s situation and felt she was almost helpless, I felt happiness to see that it was possible to make it through such rough times, and come out whole. I thought this book faced some very real situations happening today and they were topics that I feel need to be addressed.

As she began to stand up for herself, I couldn’t help, but feel this book was meant for young girls to read. It was so empowering to read about a girl struggling to find herself, while being true to her family. I felt all girls could relate to Young, because everyone struggles with family, while discovering themselves and their place in our world. It was also eye opening for me, as others, who have never gone through the trials of facing a new culture while holding on to your own. This was something that all people should learn about and come to respect and understand. This book is great for girls, people, who have gone through facing a new culture or are going through it presently. So much can be learned about a family just moving from another country and making their way in a new place.

My few concerns with this book are that some of the language was difficult to interpret. This was something I worked through pretty easily, but wonder if younger readers would loose interest do to struggling with some of the ‘mixed’ language. Also there were situations in the book that I could see being a concern for parents; having their children read. I thought the book dealt with those areas appropriately, but wonder what the best way to address some of the contents of the book with parents, so students would be allowed to read this.

Reading Journal 1

Standing against the Wind
By: Traci L. Jones

I enjoyed reading this book so much. It was neat to read about a lifestyle and culture that I am not personally familiar with. The use of setting and dialogue made the characters and their lives jump to life. It was easy to become enthralled with the book and the day to day life of Patrice.

Patrice was such an in-depth character. I felt the author did a wonderful job portraying who she was as a person. When introducing the other characters, I almost left as though Patrice was going to be a certain way and fall into the mold of her new environment. It was a pleasant surprise to read that a girl of such a young age knew who she was and didn’t change for anyone. The author did an amazing job balancing Patrice’s emotions as a teen girl being nervous and unsure of her, whiling knowing who she was and wanted to be as well. It was great to see that conflict in her and yet watch her grow and choose to stay true to herself. I felt that Patrice is a character any young girl can relate to even if they are not in the same exact situation, because her core struggles were things many girls face. It was great that her situation was also something that not all people deal with, because it was a chance to become a part of a different life and learn about others, while learning respect and understanding of that person.

While reading the book I was a little nervous to see if I would get into the story, since it was different than anything I have experienced. As soon as I began reading the detailed, true to form dialogue I couldn’t help, but feel the author did an amazing job bringing the story to life. The slang was accurate and believable to each person and well kept up with throughout the entire story. I was very impressed with the amount of dialogue and how well it was used for each different character.